Since poor Dexter has had fleas more than a couple of days you have fleas and flea eggs in your house. The medication you used on your puppy cannot keep up with the supply of fleas that are getting on him. When you have an issue like this you need to take some serious steps to get rid of the problem or it is only going to get worse.
First of all vacuum your rugs daily. Also vacuum your furniture and under the cushions of the furniture. Fleas also like to lay eggs along the edges of rooms, in dog beds, etc. Empty the vacuum outside in the garbage in a tightly closed bag. Put some moth balls in the vacuum bag or container to kill any unhatched eggs that may have been left behind.
You want to spray as many areas in your home as safely possible. Places like under cushions and along edges of the room as well as any dog beds need to be treated. Most things you buy in department stores are really not effective. There is a product called Siphotrol that is sold by many vets and online that does a pretty good job. Of course you want to remove all pets and people from the room while treating.
If you have a yard where your dog hangs out you will need to use an outdoor treatment there also. There is also an all natural product that is a powder you can use both inside and outside of the home to kill all kinds of insects called Diatomaceous Earth.
I don't understand why your vet would want you to use Advantix when you are not having a tick problem. That is one more chemical that your dog does not need. If he is concerned about using such products on the pup why would he use a double chemical product? I have used Advantage II for dogs under 10lbs on Gracie since she was a puppy with no problems. I got her right in the middle of flea season so there was not much choice.
When your dog is being assaulted by fleas like yours is the topical treatments cannot keep up with the number of fleas and you do have to retreat more often. The best thing you can do for your puppy is eliminate as many of the bugs as you can and keep the Advantage on him. Do not apply it until 3 days after a bath or it will not work. I have heard that Dawn dish washing liquid will kill the fleas that are on the dog's body but it will do nothing to keep the fleas off. This is war and you are in the middle of flea assault season so you have your work cut our for you. Of course if you have any other animals that could be effected make sure you treat them also. |